Newsroom receives bottle of liquid labelled 'Ebola'

11th Nov 2014 3:03 PM

A small bottle of liquid sent to the New Zealand Herald's mailroom today is being forwarded by police to Australia to confirm it is not the deadly Ebola virus.

Police were called to the Herald's Albert St headquarters this morning after the discovery of the package, which Sky News reported was claimed to be from a "jihadist group" and containing a vial of what was labelled Ebola. It is a suspected hoax.

A police spokeswoman said the Fire Service attended the incident, along with police, while health officials were briefed.

All precautions were taken as to the real and perceived risks, the spokeswoman said.

Herald owner NZME. said: "An unaddressed package was sent to the New Zealand Herald offices in Auckland today. Protocol was followed for a matter such as this and it is now a police matter."

Sky News Melbourne Bureau Chief Ahron Young said New Zealand authorities were working to safely contain the package before sending it to the Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

Victorian health authorities were awaiting further details.

New Zealand health authorities said there were no Ebola cases in New Zealand.